Tea, Adventure, and Muchness
by Kievan Rus' Supernova
Summary: Five years later, Hatter fears Alice may be loosing her muchness. So he goes after her. Alice/Hatter Tarrant Rating is definetly too high.


**A/N: Yes, I do realize that I have other stories I should be working on but….I FINALLY SAW ALICE IN WONDERLAND!!!!!! WooHoo!! It was AWESOME! I'm just hoping I'm not the only one who notices the Hatter making googly eyes at Alice the ENTIRE movie. It was beyond cute. Johnny Depp is the BEST Hatter ever! Please enjoy…and if you do, review!**

The Captain watched the young woman, just turned 25, stand on the bow of the ship. Her face was upturned, her blue eyes closed, and she was facing the wind, seeming to bask in the warm spray from the ocean. Her face showed pure contentment. He knew now, after five years as her captain, that the woman loved her freedom, but he couldn't understand why she wasn't settled down with a man. He smiled slightly as he thought of the type of man Alice would marry….he'd have to be at least half mad! If he had anything to say about, he'd also be a gentleman.

"Alice!" The Captain, a Lewis Howard, called to her as he walked toward the front of the ship. "Are you ready to be on dry land again? See your Mother?" As he asked, he watched her face. Instead of the joy he expected to see at the mention of her family and land, there was an unexplained sadness that flew across her eyes. She seemed to slump into herself and lost her relaxed state. He regretted his questions now. He hadn't wished to cause her any emotional harm. "I apologies if my questions were unwanted."

"No, you're fine Captain. I shouldn't be so….sad, I know." Her voice, usually friendly when speaking to any of the crew, was somber and quiet.

"If I may ask, why are you sad?" Lewis wondered if his question would offend her, but hoped he knew her well enough she would treat him as a friend.

"I have to go home." Her answer was blunt and sad quietly. It surprised Lewis as he thought she liked being home. "I'm sick of my Mother trying to marry me off to any man who comes around." Lewis didn't know what to say to her and she realized it. "I apologies. I shouldn't unload on you like that." Her voice was contrite and he quickly reassured her.

"It's no trouble, Alice. I had hoped you would consider me a friend by now." He smiled at her and she answered in return, though the sad look in her eyes didn't completely disappear.

"Oh! I do Captain! Lewis, I have known you for five years, others I barely knew for days and considered them my closest friends. You are, most definitely, a friend." Unexpectedly, at the end of her speech, Alice threw her arms around Lewis' neck and hugged him tightly. "You are one of my closest friends in this world and I appreciate everything you've done for me." Lewis smiled and gently hugged the young woman back.

"Ho! Captain Howard! Land!" A crewman's shout from behind them broke them from their private bubble. Alice looked forlornly at the approaching docks, while Lewis thought desperately of seeing his married sister again. He missed his niece and nephew greatly.

"Well, Alice, I think you should go below and make sure you're land items are packed. We are setting sail again in three weeks like planned, correct?"

"Yes Lewis. If the wind be with us." She silently waved good bye to her companion and left for below decks. If she was dragging her feet, she didn't admit it to herself. All she knew was, she wasn't looking forward to another round of being her mother's showpiece for any man she may think of.

* * *

"Alice!" Alice turned toward her mother's shout and smiled. There her mother was, a prim and proper woman, running between dock hands and commoners. "Oh Alice!" Her mother said again as she fairly strangled her in a hug. "You're not wearing a corset are you?" Her mother's voice turned from welcoming to scolding in a second. "No stockings, either, I'll wager. Alice….what are we going to do with you?" Alice rolled her eyes and felt the usual frustration that accompanied seeing her mother again.

"Mother, just…please stop! Not now." She shook her blond head and strode quickly to the carriage, leaving her mother behind. Mrs. Kingsley watched her daughter walk away and let her confusion rise within her. She would never understand why the girl chose to try and ignore real life.

"Alice. What am I to do with you child?" She muttered to herself and then quickly followed her daughter's retreating figure.

* * *

_My Queen – _

_ I have left, as you have most probably noticed. I'm not actually left, but I've….gone. I am in search of Alice. I must make sure she has not lost her muchness. And I must deliver to her, her hat. By the way, I have left you quiet a few hats by the Tea Table. There are some for dinners, some for teas, and even a few for sleeping. I do hope you enjoy them. They will exactly match your head size. Not like the ones I made for Iracebeth. DOWN WITH THE BIG HEAD! _(There was large ink dot here, looking like Hatter had left his pen resting on the paper for a moment.) _Anyways, I shall probably not be back so I wish you well._

_ Hatter_

Mirana looked serenely around the room, knowing that Hatter would be fine. He would find Alice and her muchness and he would be happy.

* * *

The three weeks went by too slowly for Alice. Her mother was relentless, having men over for tea or dinner every other day. She had never been so thankful to be going to the docks.

"Goodbye Mother." Alice hugged the older woman one last time and boarded the _Wonder_. Quickly greeting Lewis, she went to her quarters and decided to rest a while. She took her shoes off before settling down.

Lying down on her bed, she couldn't help but think of her Wonderland. She thought of all the people she met there. A very important one came to her mind. He had flaming hair and was as half mad as she. Her heart beat a quick rhythm as her mind pulled up the imagine of Tarrant Hightopp, Mad Hatter. The last thing she saw before she fell into a doze was the electric green eyes she so fondly remembered.

* * *

Alice awoke a few hours later. She practically rolled out of bed, loving the feel of boat rocking and swaying beneath her feet. She pulled her shoes on and stepped happily out of her cabin. She strolled leisurely through the halls, nodding politely to the crew and stopping to talk every few minutes. Her mood was considerably lighter than it had been in the past few weeks, but there was still an underlying feeling of longing within her. She wanted her crazy friend back, even if he was only interested in a platonic relationship.

"Alice! How are you?" Lewis called to her from the deck, where he was standing next to the great mast pole. She smiled energetically and Lewis noticed immediately that she seemed happier than when they arrived back home.

"I am just fine Lewis. How are you?" She asked kindly in return. As he answered her gaze drifted lazily over the crew working on deck.

"I'm just fine Alice. Did you-" Lewis trailed off as he noticed Alice's attention was riveted towards one of the crew men. Lewis himself didn't recognize the man, which was odd as he hand picked all who sailed with them, but he guessed Alice did if the look on her face was anything to go by. "Alice…are you alright?"

"Lewis…what is that man's name?" Her voice was breathless and faint. She sounded like she had been running a mile. Her white hand was pointing gently toward a crew man standing on the bow. His back was turned to them, but Alice thought she would recognize that hair any where. "Lewis! Who is he?" Her voice was getting frantic and she felt an unnecessary pang of fear within her heart. What if Hatter was here and didn't remember her. Above that, though, she felt a strong excitement. All that was running through her head was '_HATTER'S HERE!!!'_.

"I'm-I'm not sure Alice. I don't remember him. Alice-" Lewis stopped his sentence again as Alice took off at a run across the deck. He barely had time to register her departure before he was chasing after her. "Alice! What are you doing?!" The crew was beginning to look and seemed just as confused their Captain as to what was going on.

Alice dashed across the deck, leaving Lewis behind her. There was no way in her mind that she could be wrong. This man with flame hair had to be Tarrant Hightopp, the Mad Hatter and tea fanatic.

"Tarrant! Hatter!" She yelled just as she made it with a few feet of him. When, at first, the man didn't respond she had the first curls of embarrassment run through her belly. What if this man wasn't her Hatter? She had just made a fool of herself for no reason then. Her cheeks began to flame when the man made his first movement of acknowledgment. The man stretched his arms above his head, lowered them, and then turned.

Alice gasped as she locked eyes with two-colored eyes, one wolf yellow and the other electric green. A mad grin spread across the man's face as Alice tried to come to terms with the fact that Tarrant was standing in front of her. She made an aborted attempt to talk and then gaped like a fish.

"Hello Alice. You were late for tea so I decided I had to come find you. Just wanted to make sure you hadn't lost your muchness." Hatter's tone was so normal, for Hatter at least, that Alice began to believe that maybe she _wasn't_ hallucinating.

"Hatter….Tarrant….how?" She was still lost for words and did the next best thing to talking. She launched herself to Tarrant and practically tackled him into a hug. The only that kept them upright was Tarrant's own balance. "Oh, I missed you!" She mumbled this into his neck as she took a swift sniff of his long missed smell. The scent of tea and fabric filled her senses and brought with a strong feeling of…love. She gasped as she realized that not only was she fond of Tarrant Hightopp, Mad Hatter, she was in love with him.

"I missed you too Alice. I missed out teas, adventures, and your muchness. I even missed your ever changing sizes! Though, I do love you most in this one as it is the easiest to hug you in." He seemed oddly _sane_ as he spoke, but that was ruined by his hushed maniacal giggling when he finished. She smiled; she had missed that sound greatly.

"You love me?" Alice latched onto that thought and hoped Tarrant meant it as she interpreted. Her blue eyes looked into his bi-colored ones and neither thought anything of their audience as they stayed wrapped in each other's arms. Lewis was on the verge of breaking this little scene up, but one look at Alice's face stopped him. There was a happy, truly happy, smile on her face. Her eyes looked lovingly at this crazy looking man, as his did to her. He shook his head and gave the crew a look that said _'Get back to work'_.

"Eh-…Well, yes. I am!" He said it as if just noticing he was. Alice smiled at Tarrant's oblivious nature and brought his face closer to hers. With the conversation his eyes had changed. They went from an open, happy green/yellow to a guarded amber. She could tell he was steeling himself for her answer.

"Tarrant Hightopp…" She left the sentence hanging and brought her lips to his in a short, chaste kiss. "I am most definitely and madly in love with you. You are the only man for me in this world or Underland. You are my Wonderland." She spoke softly and tenderly, meaning every word she said. He just smiled that half-mad smile and swept her off her feet.

**A/N: Okay, did that suck? Honestly, I'm not too sure how good this was. It may just be because I'm nervous. I'm donating blood tomorrow and am TERRIFIED!! I hate needles. :'( Well, please review. If you liked the story and didn't review…well…I won't come and kill you. (I'll tell you a secret: I'm a HORRIBLE reviewer! Honest! :D ) Buh-bye!**


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